Stay Motivated to Workout with 5 Easy Tips

Getting motivated to exercise and staying on course to achieve your weight loss or fitness goal is hard, especially if you're in overdrive trying to just get through your normal day. While hopping on the treadmill or spending 2 hours in the gym may sound dreadful, finding motivation to workout and keeping yourself on track is completely within your control. Maybe all you need are a few ideas.

Fitness Motivation Tips

1 – Set Solid Fitness Goals

The first step to successful weight loss is setting a tangible, definable goal. Saying that you want to lose weight is easy and completely and utterly vague. Make your fitness goal specific and make it challenging.

Make your goal something that you don't really believe that you can achieve but really want to do. Visualize it. Own it. Make it something that you really feel that you have to accomplish. Make that goal emotional.

Examples of good, specific fitness goals might be:

I am going to run a marathon on [x date].

I am going to rock climb at Seneca Rocks this Summer.

I am going to wear this size 4 pair of jeans.

I am going to participate in Pedal to the Point, a 250-mile bike ride.

I am going to my daughter's wedding and I'm going to look awesome in my gown on the dancefloor.

Once you have a goal, set a realistic but challenging workout schedule and a wellness plan. For example, if you are planning to run a marathon for the first time and have 3 months to train, you're going to need to set a running schedule that will progressively increase your running endurance leading up to race day. If your plan is to rock climb at Seneca Rocks, you will need to develop a training plan that will get you mentally and physically prepared for the hike and multipitch climb to the summit.

2 - Make a commitment to yourself and to the people most important to you.

Feeling accountable to those that you love will drive you to push forward. Let the people you love know that you are embarking on a fitness journey and that you want to accomplish something to make yourself healthier.

Don't just tell them. Commit yourself to putting yourself first to help make your family happier and healthier. If it's only about you, you will give yourself permission to slip off the wagon. If it's about being healthier for your daughter, it will be much harder for you to make an excuse to miss a workout.

3 – Surround yourself with positive reinforcement.

The power of positive thinking is undeniable. Progress with fitness and weight loss is slow. Be patient and be prepared for set backs by setting yourself up for success.

Some easy ideas on creating positive reinforcement might be:

Hang your favorite motivational phrases around your house so that you are constantly reminded.

Wear inspirational headbands or t-shirts while you're working out so that when you're at the gym you don't give yourself permission to look silly by giving up.

If there's an obstacle on your path to fitness, either remove it or transform it. Negative influences on your health and wellness are only there if you allow them to be.

Common exercise excuses and solutions:

I have a husband/child/significant other that needs me at home.

Incorporate your loved ones into your workout schedule. Make a standing fitness date with your husband where you both do something together on a consistent basis. It could be something as simple as walking in the park or something as adventurous as indoor rock climbing. If it's hard to find a babysitter for the kids, join a gym with a babysitting service or join a local mom-co-op group where you swap babysitting hours.

I work 80 hours a week.

Workout at lunch. Put a minibike under your desk. Walk up and down the stairs on your break. Find a new job. No paycheck is more important than your overall health and wellness.

Plan ahead. Line up your workout clothes on Sunday night for the entire week in individual bags. The night before, place the next day's clothes in your gym bag. As you run out the door in a morning, you're already set to grab what you need.

My knees/shoulder/back/head hurt(s).

If you busted your knee, there's no reason why you can redesign your workout routines to focus on developing your upper body strength. Adapt workouts to injuries. If you're really concerned about whether you should do a physical activity, talk to your doctor.

I don't have room in my apartment/house to workout.

Where there's a will there's a way. Put a treadmill or a stationary bike in your living room. Find an apartment building with a gym. Buy small exercise equipment with an apartment-friendly profile. (The Bosu Ball, for example, fits under a coffee table.)

5 – Put your money where your mouth is.

It's easy to under-perform when you have nothing to lose. Invest in your wellness by making it painful to not take advantage of your workouts. Do something that makes you accountable for your progress.

Ideas on how to invest in your fitness goals:

Buy a gym membership.

Go to Weight Watchers.

Register for a marathon.

Pay for martial arts lessons.

Hire a personal trainer.

Staying motivated with working out is not only about keeping yourself going. It's about staying positive and accountable.

Believe there are no limits but the sky. Anything is possible. Keep with a healthy workout routine and diet plan and the results will speak for themselves.